Bringing back the burgers

Feast for a good cause this March

Next month, Haligonians will have a week to guiltlessly indulge in specialty burgers, knowing a portion of the proceeds will go to Feed Nova Scotia.

Lindsay Cory, one of the organizers of Burger Week (March 18 – 24), says the idea originally came from the weekly paper The Coast wanting to help local restaurants during their slower season, and it has continued to grow.

“It was hard to get people out to restaurants during the wintery months, but also we wanted to be able to tie the event into a charity, and a food charity just made sense.”

Burger Week began in 2013. Last year the event raised more than $42,000 for Feed Nova Scotia, the charitable organization feeding the hungry by distributing food to food banks.

This year the organizers hope to raise even more.

Only 25 restaurants took part three years ago, but the number has grown to 79 this year.

This year’s line-up includes restaurants like The Local, The Stubborn Goat Gastro Pub and The Auction House.

Matt Nguyen, a 24-year-old IT technician at the IWK Children’s hospital, managed to eat 25 burgers last year over the course of seven days, and this year he’s aiming for more.

Nguyen says not only is Burger Week an opportunity for him to do his favourite thing excessively (eat) but it also gives him a good reason to try out new restaurants.

“Last year I went to seven restaurants in one day,” he says.

“If I manage to consume more than 25 burgers, that’s a win for me. My stomach won’t agree, but it will be worth it.”

Nguyen says his favourite burgers last year were hard to pinpoint, but if he had to choose he says Niche, The Loose Cannon and The Rockbottom all had memorably tasty burgers.

Nguyen hopes to earn one of the coveted positions of Burger Ambassador.

Cory says The Coast is holding a contest to search for two people who will travel around the city to experience and report on Burger Week, paid for by The Coast.

There is also opportunity to get a sneak peek into Burger Week offerings this year.

You can purchase tickets to hop on the Taste Halifax Burger Bus tour, and spend one afternoon or evening of the two weekends leading up to the event sampling burger–and-beer pairings at five participating restaurants.

Organizers have also created a burger passport. Take it to three restaurants and get it stamped, and you can enter to win a free year of beer from Moosehead.